Quality, productivity and costs of spot mounding after slash and stump removal

Rantala, Juho; Saarinen, Veli-Matti; Hallongren, Heidi

doi:10.1080/02827581.2010.522591

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The stone content is particularly important when planning forest regeneration processes for an area, since a high stone content can cause difficulties for both the soil preparation and the planting (Saksa et al 2018;Rantala et al 2010;Saarinen 2006;Lideskog et al 2014). Knowing the soil stoniness may also help when tree growth, weathering and hydrological models are developed (Eriksson and Holmgren 1996;Karlsson 2000;Coppola et al 2013;Panagos et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classifying soil stoniness based on the excavator boom vibration data in mounding operations

Melander¹,

Ritala²,

Strandström³

2019

Silva Fenn.

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Highlights• An excavator was equipped with an inertial measurement unit for taking automatic measurements of soil stoniness during mounding work. • Supervised machine-learning classifiers were trained utilizing both the automatically measured data and manual stoniness measurements. • The class prediction for the soil stoniness achieved an accuracy of 70% when assigned to constant grid cells. AbstractThe stoniness index of forest soil describes the stone content in the upper soil layer at depths of 20-30 centimeters. This index is not available in any existing map databases, and traditional measurements for the stoniness of the soil have always necessitated laborious soil-penetration methods. Knowledge of the stone content of a forest site could be of use in a variety of forestry operations. This paper presents a novel approach to obtaining automatic measurements of soil stoniness during an excavator-based mounding operation. The excavator was equipped with only a low-cost inertial measurement unit and a satellite navigation receiver. Using the data from these sensors and manually conducted soil stoniness measurements, supervised machine learning methods were utilized to build a model that is capable of predicting the stoniness class of a given mounding location. This study compares different classifiers and feature selection methods to find the most promising solution for this learning problem. The discussion includes a proposition for a meaningful measurement resolution of the soil's stoniness, and a practical method for evaluating the variability of the stone content of the soil. The results indicate that it is possible to predict the soil stoniness class with 70% accuracy using only the inertial and location measurements.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classifying soil stoniness based on the excavator boom vibration data in mounding operations

Melander¹,

Ritala²,

Strandström³

2019

Silva Fenn.

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“…Soil preparation is mainly performed using separate machines after the stumps have been harvested and forwarded (Kärhä 2012). It is therefore interesting to compare ground disturbance after stump harvesting to that after various possible kinds of soil preparation, including mounding, which is the most commonly used soil preparation method after stump harvesting in Finland (Rantala et al 2010;Hallongren et al 2014). For example, 14-21% of the total area is disturbed after mounding and 40-60% after disc trenching (Roturier and Bergsten 2006;Roturier et al 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of stump size and timing of stump harvesting on ground disturbance and root breakage diameter

Berg¹,

Nordfjell²,

Bergström³

2015

Silva Fenn.

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Effect of stump size and timing of stump harvesting on ground disturbance and root breakage diameter Berg S., Bergström D., Nordfjell T. (2015). Effect of stump size and timing of stump harvesting on ground disturbance and root breakage diameter. Silva Fennica vol. 49 no. 5 article id 1312. 17 p. Highlights• The ground disturbance and root breakage diameter during conventional stump harvesting on mineral soil were quantified.• A function for estimating the disturbed area based on stump size was constructed.• Many fine roots were found to be harvested.• The total ground disturbance at the site after stump harvesting was similar to that caused by soil scarification. AbstractStump wood is a possible alternative to fossil fuel. Its harvesting, however, disturbs the ground and this has not yet been quantified at stump level. Such disturbance is likely to be dependent on stump size, type of soil and timing of stump harvesting. Therefore, we measured ground disturbance and root breakage diameter at two Norway spruce sites with sandy glacial till soil. The sites were harvested with a fork type head, 6 and 18 months after clear cutting. Measurements were made within 2 weeks of harvest. No difference was found between the two sites. The mean area of disturbed ground was 6.06 (std 3.14) m 2 per stump and increased exponentially with stump size. A regression function modelling the relationship was constructed. Unexpectedly, many fine roots where extracted in the harvest. The arithmetic and basal area weighted mean root breakage diameter was 4.6 (std 2.2) and 29.5 (std 17.9) mm, respectively. There seems to be a limited increase in root breakage diameter with increased stump size. The small root breakage diameter is associated with reduced fuel quality and greater nutrient removal. It appears that much of the ground disturbance is associated with the creation of ruts rather than stump harvest per se. Stump harvesting disturbs a larger percentage of the area of a harvested site than mounding. Postponing stump harvest by one year did not decrease the ground disturbance or increase the root breakage diameter. To achieve less disturbance and larger root breakage diameter, probably new stump harvesting technology is required.

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“…New ideas and the ability to cooperate are essential success factors in the commercialization of silvicultural products and services. Knowledge of export markets and the means to operate in them are also important (Hallongren and Rantala 2010). Informing NIPFs and forestry professionals about the benefits of mechanized planting (e.g.…”

Section: Development Of Planting Machinesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Continuously advancing spot mounders have tended to be faster than intermittently working ones (Hämäläinen and Kaila 1985;Hall 1995;Rantala et al 2010), but they suffer from a low number of acceptable mounds per ha in relation to the need for suitable planting spots (von Hofsten 1991;Hall 1995;Rantala et al 2010). Also, devices with two mounding units instead of one have been reported to work faster (Brunberg and Fries 1985).…”

Section: Reforestation In Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The time consumption of spot mounding carried out with excavator boom-mounted devices with intermittent working method depends on working conditions and mound quality criteria (Brunberg and Fries 1985;von Hofsten and Pettersson 1991;Hall 1995;Rantala et al 2010). Continuously advancing spot mounders have tended to be faster than intermittently working ones (Hämäläinen and Kaila 1985;Hall 1995;Rantala et al 2010), but they suffer from a low number of acceptable mounds per ha in relation to the need for suitable planting spots (von Hofsten 1991;Hall 1995;Rantala et al 2010).…”

Section: Reforestation In Finlandmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mechanized tree planting in Finland and improving its productivity

Laine¹

2017

Diss. For.

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The demand for mechanized tree planting is expected to increase in the future. This dissertation assessed mechanized tree planting in Finland and suggests ways to improve its current productivity. The work on which this thesis is based was described in five peerreviewed articles (I-V) addressing four specific research questions (SQs) that focus on productivity and cost-competitiveness, automation, capacity utilization, and the quality of planting work.While productivity of mechanized planting is higher than manual methods, it is not yet cost-competitive. However, increasing efficiency by skilled operators and worksite selection make it possible for mechanized planting costs to remain lower than those of excavator spot mounding followed by manual planting. Increasing productivity and reducing operating costs are possible with an effective automatic seedling feeding system, although the Risutec APC is not yet sufficiently developed to reach that goal. Planting machine capacity is underutilized and could be utilized more effective to enhance productivity and cost-efficiency. Technical availability of planting machines in Finland is good, and the quality of mechanized planting work is high. Optimization and integration of the entire mechanized planting chain from the nursery to outplanting is important to minimize total cost.In summary, for mechanized planting to be effective the following criteria must be satisfied: machine reliability; highly-skilled machine operator; suitable worksite; seedling quality, availability, and supply to worksite. In the future, it is important to continue developing new and existing machines to enhance productivity, e.g., by continuously working planting machines.

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Quality, productivity and costs of spot mounding after slash and stump removal

Cited by 22 publications

References 6 publications

Classifying soil stoniness based on the excavator boom vibration data in mounding operations

Classifying soil stoniness based on the excavator boom vibration data in mounding operations

Effect of stump size and timing of stump harvesting on ground disturbance and root breakage diameter

Mechanized tree planting in Finland and improving its productivity

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